CHINESE MASS ON INDIAN BORDER

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28987, 31 August 1959, Page 11

CHINESE MASS ON INDIAN BORDER

Outposts In North To Be Reinforced

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

(Rec. 10 p.m.) CALCUTTA, August 29. Thousands of Chinese Communist troops are massed on the north frontier of India’s North-east Assam Frontier Agency, according to Calcutta newspaper reports quoted by British United Press.

The “Statesman” and the “Amrita Bazar Patrika” both carried the reports, which, they said, had been received at the headquarters of the Frontier Agency from Indian troops stationed in mountain passes near Tibet.

The Indian Army is establishing a forward headquarters in the remote, mountainous Frontier Agency, where Chinese troops have taken the Indian border post of Lonju, official sources in New Delhi said.

Ready For Action

The sources said Army detachments were already in the frontier agency and were ready for action, but would not be “wasted” on routine border patrols where the only likelihood was minor skirmishing.

The Assam Rifles, a militia force composed mostly of tough Gurkha hillmen led by Indian officers, will remain at the border posts as before but under Army control instead of civilian.

The Assam Rifles are equipped only with small arms.

The Indian Prime Minister (Mr Nehru), who yesterday announced Chinese incursions across the border, also said that the entire North-east Frontier Age .cy, where the borders of, India, Tibet and Communist China come together, had been placeci under Army control. There is still no news whether the Indian pickets, forced to retreat from the outpost of Longju in the Subansiri area, were nearing Limeking, the next outpost, 20 miles to the south —about five days’ march from Longju.

The weather in the Subansiri area was described as “awful” at this time of year with heavy monsoon rains, thick low clouds and poor visibility.

Another obstacle to the movement of troops is the mountainous terrain, which is covered by dense jungle.

According to unconfirmed reports reaching Calcutta, Indian forces suffered casualties in fresh clashes with Chinese border guards in the North-east Frontier Agency on Thursday. Thte ‘Hindustan Standard” also carried a dispatch from its correspondent in Shillong saying there had been clashes when the Chinese tried to infiltrate into Indian territory and that an Assam Rifles outpost at Los Tzog had driven off Chinese troops in a heavy exchange of fire. Informed sources said the border posts were being strengthened and there would be increased vigilance.

The nearest airfield to Longju is understood to be about three weeks’ march away at Zero, the administrative headquarters of the Subansiri Frontier Division. But it is a fair-weather strip, which can be used only occasionally at this time of year by light aircraft. The area is under the immediate military control of Lieuten-ant-General Shankarrao Thorat, general officer commanding Eastern Command, whose headquarters are at Lucknow, in Uttar Pradesh State, about 800 miles south-west of the Subansiri Division.

General Thorat, a 53-year-old Sandhurst-trained officer, won the D.S O. in Burma and served with the Indian custodian force in Korea.

The Indian Air Force is understood to have made reconnaissance flights over the frontier area, but bad weather and dense jungles made it difficult to see anything. Indian troops were two days’ march from the border outpost of Longju, where a Chinese Communist detachment has been reported, British United Press said. It is understood that the Chinese detachment will be warned by leaflets before any action is taken against it. The Indian troops have been selected from forces specially trained in jungle and mountain warfare. It was reported in New Delhi that the Indian Air Force Chief of Staff (Air Marshal Mukerjee) is to cut short a visit to Cairo on the advice of the Indian Government. Reuters said it had learned In New Delhi today that the Indian Army was setting up operational headquarters near Johat, in Assam, to control defensive arrangements in the North-east Frontier Agency. Troop reinforcements were being moved to the area; but it was understood that no military steps would te taken for the time being to recapture the outpost of Longju. Efforts would be concentrated on diplomatic approaches to Peking. Jorhat, on the banks of the Brahmaputra river, is about 120 miles from the Longju outpost and has a large airport The Indian Air Force has a station there from which sorties are carried out over frontier areas. In Calcutta, security forces were reported to be tightening their vigilance of the Chinese population, the hews agency said. More Chinese live in the two Chinese sections of Calcutta than anywhere else in India. It was also reported that antiCommunist Left-wing Chinese held a demonstration' outside the Chinese Communist Consulate in Calcutta